Life and Legacy of Al Davis: AFL Commissioner

As we reflect on the legacy of Al Davis, the legendary coach and later owner of the Raiders, we look at his role as the leader of the AFL.

Al Davis was a man who not only helped introduce the vertical game into pro football, not only developed the Raiders into the “Commitment to Excellence” franchise they are today, but he also was a crucial player in the NFL-AFL merger.

In this series, we’re reflecting on Al Davis’s life and legacy. Today, Davis gets his first taste in management.

Al as AFL commissioner

Take a brief moment and think back to the first time you had a management position. How old were you, and where was it? Probably a small company or at least a small job managing a few people at most, right?

For Davis, his first management job in his life was serving as the AFL Commissioner, at the young age of 36, in the middle of the battle against the NFL.

Two simple lessons to learn here.

A. If you got the personality, anyone can be in management.

B. Age is just a number.

Davis was up against NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle, a 40-year old businessman and an executive with a background in public relations.

Rozelle was named Sports Illustrated’s Sportsman of the Year in 1963, and he was a man who wasn’t afraid of making decisions best for the league, whether owners liked it or not.

That didn’t scare Davis, though. He treated the NFL as if they were threatening the AFL’s way of business.

He started to take an aggressive leadership and fought for new rookies and offer better deals to NFL veterans in hopes that they would jump ship and join the AFL.

The AFL began to sign NFL veterans such as Los Angeles Rams quarterback Roman Gabriel, Chicago Bears tight end Mike Ditka and San Francisco 49ers quarterback John Brodie.

Davis was attacking his opponent head-on. But behind curtains unknown to him, Lamar Hunt of the AFL’s Kansas City Chiefs and Tex Schramm of the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys found a peaceful way to merge the two leagues.

Tell us what you think in the comment section below.

Want the latest breaking Las Vegas Raiders news delivered straight to your email for FREE? Sign up for the DAILY Raiders Nation newsletter when you CLICK THE FOLLOW button on the main page. Don't miss any of the latest up to the second updates for your Las Vegas Raiders when you follow on Twitter @HondoCarpenter